Why the Tim Hortons in MacEwan should stick to drinks

If you’re anything like me, you like a good reasonably-priced cup of coffee. As delicious Deville’s lattes are, there’s nothing worse than breaking the bank on coffee. But, Tim Hortons gives me my daily cup of java, and I don’t have to provide more than a toonie.

I know exactly what I get from Tim’s — hot coffee with the slightly burnt taste of coffee beans. Tim Hortons’s reputation remains strong as a beloved Canadian chain, or… as Canadian as it can get as a massive fast food chain.

Tim’s is not what it used to be. Our perception of Tim Hortons is affected by our desire to view it as some sort of Canadian underdog. When we think of Tim’s, we think of some trucker sitting in his truck, sipping away at a double-double and snacking on a doughnut — simple, cozy, and comforting.

Maybe that’s why the promotion of Tim Hortons’s food items rubs me the wrong way. I never thought I needed a breakfast wrap or savoury snacks packed with jalapeno. It’s cheap and complicated; a mismatched combination.

While I could provide a variety of “deep” reasons as to why the food items on their menu are worthy of my contempt, I’m mostly troubled by more superficial reasons: long lines and wrong orders. These issues are specific to MacEwan, though I’m sure that a Tim Hortons in some other university is going through the same thing.

Everybody wants a cheap cup of coffee… or cold brew… or an Ice Capp. Regardless of your culinary proclivities, you’re probably in need of a little pick-me-up after an 8 a.m. class. The two Tim Hortons on campus are usually adorned with a long garland of students.

For anybody studying near the Tim Hortons in Building 8, I am sorry. 

In theory, the long lines would move quickly if everybody ordered drinks. Drinks aren’t overly complicated, but food items are where things get messy. With so many students ordering breakfast sandwiches and grilled paninis, I can imagine the Tim’s staff frantically assembling orders like it’s an episode of the Bear. 

Naturally, with so many students ordering food items, there’s bound to be some mistakes. These mistakes might be a lack of cream cheese on a bagel or a cold wrap. It’s easy to pin blame on the staff, but they’re also juggling several students’ orders. 

And, not to say “I told you so,” but it would be so much simpler if people stuck to ordering drinks; but, Tim Hortons is also opening the door to complaints since they’re the ones adding overly complicated food items to their menu. With an assembly area with the surface area of a plastic kitchen playset, it’s really, really difficult to imagine why Tim’s is ill-equipped to do food orders. 

It might be easier to keep it simple. There’s nothing particularly impressive about being a Jack-of-all-trades, but Master of None.

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Graphic by Leanna Bressan